Innovation
Through its innovation support, the University of Gothenburg collaborates with societal actors to develop and disseminate knowledge- and research-based solutions. The University’s Innovation Office, GU Ventures, and partnerships with incubators and science parks create pathways from research to practical application.
Innovation Support
In Sweden, university-based innovation support primarily consists of the universities’ innovation offices and holding companies.
At the University of Gothenburg, the Innovation Office is part of the Research and Innovation Services. Here, researchers, employees, and students receive support in areas such as research funding, commercial law, management, innovation, and how research results can benefit society.
The University of Gothenburg’s holding company, GU Ventures, is managed by the university but is organisationally separate from the public authority.
The Innovation Office
The Innovation Office supports researchers, employees, and students at the University of Gothenburg who want to develop innovative ideas, regardless of academic field. The goal is to contribute to practical solutions that support a sustainable societal transition.
These ideas are often based on new research, and the Innovation Office offers support by:
- testing whether the ideas work in practice
- ensuring they solve or improve key societal challenges
- making them useful and accessible to people and organisations outside the university
This development takes place in close dialogue with those who need the solution, such as end users, subject-matter experts, and organisations that can carry the idea forward. These can include companies, municipalities, public services, or civil society actors.
The overall aim of the Innovation Office's support is to ensure that the university’s expertise and research results can benefit society.
There are several possible paths for applying a new solution, for example through collaboration, commercialisation, social innovation, or implementation.
The Innovation Office often works in partnership with other parts of the innovation support system, such as the university’s holding company and incubator, GU Ventures, as well as with external actors like other incubators, science parks, and research and innovation funders.
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GU Ventures
GU Ventures, the University of Gothenburg’s holding company and incubator, initiates, develops, and finances companies and business ventures based on innovative ideas linked to the university.
The purpose is to use commercialisation as a tool to develop, implement, and spread knowledge and research-based solutions that make a real difference in society.
While GU Ventures primarily focuses on life sciences and technology, it welcomes all business ideas involving unique, sustainable products or services with scalable growth potential.
Education in entrepreneurship
At the University of Gothenburg, students can take courses and programmes in innovation and entrepreneurship, where they work on evaluating and developing business ideas and business models - sometimes their own, and often in close collaboration with researchers and industry.
Masterprograms in entrepreneurship
Innovation Environments
The University of Gothenburg collaborates with local incubators and accelerators to support the growth and development of new companies originating from the university. Through these partnerships, companies receive support in areas such as:
- business development
- coaching
- networking
- team building
- early stage financing
The incubators integrated with the universities’ holding companies, GU Ventures and Chalmers Ventures, can also offer direct investment in the companies.
The university is also involved in several science parks, open environments where researchers, students, and staff work together with industry and civil society. Through collaborative projects and programmes, these parks support the development of businesses as well as research and innovation projects aimed at creating new solutions for society.
Incubators and science parks in Västra Götaland, vgregion.se
Chalmers Ventures
Chalmers Ventures, the incubator of Chalmers University of Technology, initiates, develops, and finances companies and business ventures based on innovative ideas in various technology fields, primarily grounded in research from universities and other higher education institutions.
Some departments, programmes, and research groups are shared between the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers, and there is also a natural flow between the two universities’ innovation support systems.
The Innovation Platform
For researchers with joint employments at the University of Gothenburg and the Region Västra Götaland, the Innovation Platform provides support for ideas and innovations for development and implementation within the healthcare system.
Sahlgrenska Science Park
A project arena, lab environment, accelerator, and hub for the health innovation and life science ecosystem. Sahlgrenska Science Park runs collaborative projects in areas such as precision health, AI, and the data-driven, sustainable transformation of healthcare, projects in which researchers from the University of Gothenburg are actively involved.
Lindholmen Science Park
A project arena and competence hub for the ecosystem within mobility for people and goods, ICT, AI, media, and visualisation. Lindholmen Science Park runs collaborative projects ranging from research to experimental development, with active participation from researchers at the University of Gothenburg.
Drivhuset
Drivhuset offers idea counselling to help both students and individuals outside academia move their business ideas forward, towards starting or developing a company. They provide guidance, practical methods, tools, and networks.
The methodology used by Drivhuset Göteborg is partly based on research from the University of Gothenburg, and they also contribute to certain university courses.